Cheerful Colour

Christmas trees and twinkling lights go up earlier each year. As I’ve been saying this for about twenty years, it’s almost certainly not true. Still, I’ve rewarded my relatives and friends with sarcastic reminders that their heavily laden trees and sparkling homes are out of place in November. Such observations are usually thwarted by reminders of 2020’s inherent gloom. By this, they meant not the short days and limited sunshine, which is bad enough, but the glum nature of a locked-down, tiered, socially-distant nine months. Shiny baubles and fairy lights bring some much-needed cheer. Of course we, Christ’s people, know that Christmas without Christ is no real cheer at all. ‘Xmas’ is just a soggy rag of sickly sentiment, or else a greedy binge of material acquisition.

While out walking on a foggy day this month, my eyes were immediately attracted to something bright red. It was a bush full of berries, the type of which I could not identity. Why such colourful and juicy berries remained ungobbled, I cannot say. Yet I appreciated the interruption to the muddy brown path and the grey, featureless sky.  

At chapel last week, our holly bush’s crimson berries provided a welcome distraction from leafless trees and stark borders. Perhaps for related reasons, I started noticing wildflowers this year, of which there are more posts to come. Colour was a wonderful gift to us from the Creator. Contrary to popular opinion, dogs can see colours, but fewer than humans. When we behold the colours of the rainbow, a dog would see only blue, yellow, brown and grey. Well their sense of smell may be better than ours, but I’m glad that we see in Glorious Technicolor.

Perhaps in heaven, our comprehension of colour will be enlarged. John beholds in Revelation 4:

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

If heaven is a brighter, nobler alternative to earth, how much more colourful must it be. We Christ-followers are heading to that vivid, cheerful place. The comfort it gives us a we traipse through this dark, monochrome world is far greater than anything obtained from a plastic tree or flashing electric bulbs. Yes, we need hope, brightness and radiance this winter. May we look to its Source rather than its dim reflections.

Image by Cousett Hoover from Pixabay